Friday, June 5, 2026

Congress approved a temporary waiver of fines and penalties for 2025 election candidates who failed to file required campaign finance reports or open separate campaign bank accounts, giving them two months to comply before sanctions take effect.

A government commission winding down ministries from the former Castro administration found contracts charging as much as L70,000 (about $2,800) per broadcast minute, along with evidence of political spending and missing computer hard drives, and has referred its findings to the audit court and prosecutors.

A proposal by Liberal congressman Yury Sabas would lower the minimum driving age to 16, allowing teenagers to drive light vehicles between 5 a.m. and 8 p.m. under a reformed Traffic Law.

Jorge Alberto Cálix Orellana, whose brother Mario José "Cubeta" Cálix was extradited to the US on drug charges, has been named director of OABI, the state agency that manages assets seized from traffickers—a move a rights lawyer warned could pose conflicts of interest.

The vice president of the Tegucigalpa Chamber of Commerce warned that despite Honduras's macroeconomic progress, inflation, insecurity, unemployment, and extortion are keeping those gains from improving everyday Hondurans' living standards.

Honduras's central bank sold $81 million at its June 4 foreign-exchange auction, setting a weighted average rate of L26.67 per dollar for June 5.

Domestic rice output has dropped below 500,000 quintals against annual demand of 6 million, leaving Honduras to import about 90% of its supply from the US, Brazil, and Paraguay.

Tegucigalpa's city government announced a plan to ease traffic and cut accidents along the congested eastern highway corridor, working with national transport authorities to overcome past obstacles from organized crime and street vendors.

Biology students at UNAH's Cortés campus are raising money for specialized veterinary care for César, a boa constrictor rescued with severe injuries, including a machete wound near its head.

André Enoc Mejía, 10, is the first Honduran to attend the international space-training program at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where he will study robotics, astronomy, and aerospace technology before earning junior astronaut certification.

Honduras's meteorological service, Cenaos, forecasts strong thunderstorms and heavy rain across several regions on Friday.

Carlos Eduardo Espina, the new owner of Club Victoria, said the Ceiba-based team will pay players full 12-month salaries even during preseason, a practice he says no other Honduran club follows.

Tegucigalpa will close some roads on June 6 for the 36th Police Race, an event involving national police and residents; authorities advise using alternate routes and following traffic directions.

Concacaf has confirmed the group-stage match dates for Motagua, Olimpia, and Marathón in the 2026 Central America Cup, a four-month regional club tournament running from July through December that feeds into the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup.

Lelis Armando Gabarrete, 38, was shot dead by gunmen on a motorcycle as he crossed a road near a gas station in San Juan de Opoa, Copán; police are investigating the motive.

Honduran police are investigating a possible link between a land sale and the killing of retired teacher Mercedes Martina Turcios in El Rosario, Comayagua, based on evidence gathered at the scene.

Police arrested Carlos Roberto Cruz Velásquez, 49, on an outstanding warrant in the November 2021 death of Cruz Alexander Soto Elvir, whom authorities say he shot while working as a pharmacy security guard after the victim allegedly robbed a nearby branch.

Elvia Mercedes Gómez, a nurse found dead in her home in San Manuel, Cortés, is being investigated as a possible femicide, with her partner the main suspect; her death brings the toll of women killed violently in Honduras to at least 112 in 2026.

Prosecutors have formally charged a man accused of orchestrating four murders, including the killing of a son of former president Porfirio Lobo Sosa.

The US deported 17,650 Hondurans in the first five months of 2026, up 71% from the same period last year, as the country struggles to absorb migrants who had fled violence, poverty, and a lack of opportunity.

Honduran migrants who disappeared in Veracruz, Tamaulipas, and Jalisco over the past decade—among them José Rafael Rivera in 2008, Aaron Eleazar Carrazco Turcios in 2012, and Oscar Antonio López Enamorado in 2010—remain missing, and their families still hold out hope for word of their whereabouts.

Honduras's deaf community says the National Congress hired an unqualified sign-language interpreter for official broadcasts, denying them equal access to information, and is demanding a certified professional.

Liberal Party congressman Roberto Pineda Chacón filed a motion Thursday to penalize the burning of tires during protests and the dumping of tires in public spaces, citing environmental protection ahead of World Environment Day.

Honduras's currency weakened again on June 5, with the central bank's daily forex auction setting the dollar at L26.67 to buy and L26.80 to sell, extending a steady slide blamed on IMF-backed exchange-rate adjustments.

Uber drivers demonstrated Friday to seek government approval to operate legally, pointing to a lack of jobs in their original professions.

Prices for all major petroleum products drop on June 9, with kerosene down 4.14 lempiras per gallon and regular gasoline down 3.45 lempiras per gallon, as the Energy Ministry credits lower international oil prices following Middle East tensions.

Honduras imported 6.97 million barrels of fuel worth $608.2 million in the first three months of 2026, up 5.8% from a year earlier, driven by higher demand for diesel and gasoline for vehicles and thermal power generation.

Several areas of Comayagua will lose power for at least six hours on Saturday, June 6, from 8:15 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. for ENEE maintenance work.

Also reported by: TuNota (Canal 5 / TSI)

The IHTT has stepped up raids in the capital to pull unauthorized VIP taxis off the streets, seizing roughly 50 vehicles so far and hitting operators with 11,000-lempira fines and six-month impoundments among an estimated 900 illegal cabs competing with licensed services.

Honduras's Health Secretariat now requires measles vaccination for travelers bound for Guatemala, Mexico, the United States, or Canada after confirming two recent imported cases; the country has logged no domestic measles transmission since 1997.

Also reported by: HCH

Residents of Azacualpa, Copán, elected a Maya-Chortí Indigenous Council to defend their territory against Minosa, which keeps operating despite a concession that expired in 2023 and after destroying the community's ancestral cemetery.

Central American tourism agencies signed an agreement to build multi-country tourist circuits linking Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, aiming to strengthen regional connectivity and make the region a competitive international destination.

Altos Hiking y Running is opening registration for a June 28 trail-running event in Choloma, with 5- and 10-kilometer courses, a 450-lempira entry fee, and prizes for top finishers.

Agents from the Special Cocaine Task Force (FESCCO) arrested four people carrying 135 packages of suspected cocaine in Lempira Department and obtained detention orders against them.

Several current and former Central Bank of Honduras employees, arrested across three departments, face charges of negligent mismanagement that allegedly let millions in state funds be illegally diverted, with prosecutors filing 100 counts of imprudent misappropriation against them.

Also reported by: TuNota (Canal 5 / TSI), HCH, Ministerio Público (X)

A motorcycle collided with a public bus in the Barandillas neighborhood of San Pedro Sula on Thursday, setting both vehicles on fire; the motorcyclist suffered severe burns but was pulled to safety by bystanders and the bus driver before firefighters arrived.

Honduras's Special Prosecutor for Tax Crimes has recovered more than L31.9 million (about $1.28 million) in unpaid taxes from smuggling cases in the northern region.